mysql order by issue

Question

if i have a query like :

SELECT * FROM table  WHERE id IN (3,6,1,8,9);

this array of the ids is build in php dynamically , and the order is

Answer 1

If you must do it this way you'll have to manipulate the data in PHP. MySQL can only order by natural orderings ascending or descending.

Got to question though - why do you need the data returned in this very specific order? There may be an easier solution to your problem by re-jigging something further up in the code.